Contemporary Indian Musicians

Since the beginning of music, innumerable musicians have walked upon this land. A vast majority of them have lived ordinary lives playing instruments and singing only for their near and dear ones; or just for themselves. They unfortunately never found their way to the annals based on music. But then, there were those who have been given a fair share of fame. Undoubtedly they deserved it as their contribution has changed the face of music with their creations.

History has glorified them and musicians of every generation have worshipped the creators and inventors. The contemporary Indian musicians may not have brought about innovations as such, but they have contributed immensely towards enhancing the cultural wealth of this country. They have traveled across the seas carrying with them the mystical, soothing, calming and uniting forces of their compositions. Surely in times to come they will find a prominent place in the music textbooks and historic recordings for the coming generations.

Each one of the abovementioned contemporary Indian musicians have made prominent contributions to their fields of specialization. Though there are many more than those briefly profiled here, these musicians are considered gemstones of contemporary India.

Pandit Ravi Shankar is a world-renowned sitar player. He was trained by Ustad Allauddin Khan of Maihar. Amongst the milestones of his career was his performance with Yehudi Menuhin and David Ostrach at the UNESCO Music festival, Paris, in 1958. In 1967 he founded the Kinnara school in Los Angeles. The following year Pandit Ravi Shankar was awarded the degree of Doctorate of Fine Arts by the Regents of University of California. He also received one of the highest Indian honors, the Padma Vibhushan.

Pandit Hariprasad Chaurasia is acclaimed globally for his bansuri performances. He is considered to be one of the few musicians to have made extensive efforts to expose the world to Indian classical music. He actually hails from a family that had nothing to do with music and used to attend music lessons secretly as his father did not want him to have anything to do with music and instead become a wrestler. After initially learning vocal music from Pandit Rajaram, he went onto learning the flute from Pandit Bholanath. Pandit Chaurasia is known for his musical renderings where he blends the traditional tunes with his innovative compositions. Through his career he has achieved a number of prestigious awards that include the Padmabhushan and Padma Vibhushan.

Bismillah Khan is considered as a shennai maestro. This instrument, which was almost unheard of around the world, has been recognized due to his global performances. He was trained by Ali Bux `Vilayatu’, who was a shennai player attached to Varanasi’s Vishwanath Temple. His shennai tunes have traveled to Afghanistan, Europe, Iran, Canada, USA, USSR, Japan, etc.

Ustad Amjad Ali Khan is a celebrated sarod player. In fact it is because of him that this ancient musical instrument has a place in modern day society. He was taught the art of playing this instrument by his father, Haafiz Ali Khan. He has performed at international music festivals such as WOMAD Rivermead Festival in UK, World Beat Festival in Brisbane, International Poets Festival in Rome, Hong Kong Arts Festival, 1200 Years celebration of Frankfurt and Schonbrunn in Vienna, etc. He has been accorded prestigious awards such as the UNESCO Award, Padma Vibhushan, Unicef’s National Ambassadorship, The Crystal Award, et al.

Bhimsen Joshi has been recognized through the years for his vocal renderings. Music connoisseurs claim that he has a divine voice and has been gifted by the gods. He has continuously claimed that the fame he has earned is a result of his devotion to and his unflinching faith in his guru.

Pandit Shiv Kumar Sharma is regarded as the musician who revived the santoor. It is because of his dedication and devotion that people have come to enjoy this mystical and harmonious musical instrument that hails from the land of Kashmir. He has performed in countries such as Japan, Germany, Australia and America. Through his musical career he has been furnished various awards such as the Honorary Citizen for the City of Baltimore, USA; Honorary Doctorate from the University of Jammu, the Padmashree, the Padma Vibhushan, et al.